Refrigerator car construction



R. B. wlNsHlP REFRIGERATOR CAR CONSTRUCTION Filed April 28, 1939 Junel0, '194-1.

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Patented June 10, 1941 REFRIGERATOR CAR CONSTRUCTION Ralph B. Winshp,Montreal, Quebec, Canada, as-

signor, by mesne assignments, to Standard Railway Refrigerator Company,a corporation of Delaware Application April 28, 1939, Serial No. 270,574

9 Claims.

The invention relates to refrigerator cars used to transport perishablecommodities at a predetermined temperature. The essential features of arefrigerator car are an insulated house-like structure and arefrigerating means when used in summer or a heating means when used inwinter.

This invention relates particularly to refrigerator cars of the overheadbunker type. Cars of this type have ice bunkers or refrigerantcontainers suspended immediately below the roof and the lading supportedon arack which rests on the floor so as to provide a space between thefloor and the lading. Enclosing structures are usually provided for therefrigerant containers and flues are associated with the walls of thecar, which flues communicate between the enclosing structures for therefrigerant containers and the space under the floor rack. Then air,upon being cooled by the refrigerant, flows downwardly through the sidewall flue to the space under the floor rack and is distributed to thelading by the rack which is foraminous for this purpose. The air absorbsheat from the lading and returns to the refrigerant containers throughopenings in the enclosing structures at a higher elevation than the coldair openings leading to the side wall flues. The side wall flues arealso used to conduct melted refrigerant or condensation to the lowerpart of the car from where it may be drained off.

Refrigerator cars must be provided with doorways to provide for loadingthe cars. They are commonly provided midway of the side walls and aremade as narrow as practical so as not to unnecessarily impair theinsulation of the car. However, it has been found that doorways must beat least four feet wide and often wider. To interrupt the side wall fluefor a distance of four or more feet creates a serious deficiency ofrefrigerated air in the region of the doorway.

It is an object of the invention to provide means for the distributionof refrigerated air t the lading near the doorway. Another object is toprovide a load supporting means to bridge the opening between the doorthreshold and the floor racks, thus providing an even surface fortransporting the lading into the car. Y

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from thefollowing detailed description taken with reference to the drawing inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a partial cross section of a refrigerator car embodying myinvention taken on line I-I of Fig. 3.

Fig. 2 is a similar section on line 2-2 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary horizontal section on lines 3 3 of Figs. 1 and2.

Fig. 4 shows an enlarged portion of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 shows a modified construction.

The drawing shows a refrigerator car having insulated walls 2, floor 3and roof 4 with a hatch 5 in the roof 4 and a refrigerant container 6below said hatch and positioned to be loaded therethrough. The lading(outlines of crates which may comprise the lading are shown by brokenlines I Il) is supported by a rack II above the floor 3 so as to providea space I2 between the lading I0 and the floor 3. The refrigerantcontainer 6 is enclosed in a chamber I5, which chamber is formed by adrip pan or substantially horizontal partition I6 and an upstanding wallII. A vertical flue I 9 associated with a wall 2 communicates betweenthe chamber I5 and the space I2 under the lading I0 for ow ofrefrigerated air. The rack I I is foraminous to provide for thedistribution of said refrigerated air to the lading I0. Openings 2I inthe chamber I5 provide means for warm air to return to the refrigerantchamber I5. The flue I9 may also conduct condensation or meltedrefrigerant to the lower part of the car from where it may be drained tothe outside.

A doorway is provided in the side wall 2 and is commonly closed by doors25 as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The floor rack II is often made of spacedapart slats 26 which form the upper surface and spaced apart stringers2l which space the slats 26 from the floor 3. The stringers 21 dividethe space I2 into a plurality of ducts 28 which are aligned with theflue I9 and communicate adjacent the wall 2 with said flue so that airwhich is cooled by the refrigerant may flow through the flue I3 to theducts 28 and thence upwardly through the openings 29 between the slats26 to the lading compartment.

Cars are frequently designed without iiues at the doorway so that theducts 35 under the rack I I at the doorway are not aligned with the iiueI9 and, therefore, do not have a means of communication with the supplyof refrigerated air; i. e., with the flue I9. I have provided a member3I spaced from the floor 2 to provide a passage 38 between the member 3land the floor 2. The passage 38 has communication with the ilues I9through the opening 39 under the nailing strip 4I) which supports thepartition 4I. The passage 38 also communicates with the ducts 35 underthe rack II to provide a path for the circulation of refrigerated airfrom the :flue I9 through the opening 39 to the passage 38 and then tothe ducts 35 from where it flows upwardly through the rack H to thelading compartment.

Apertures i5 may be provided in the member 3l to permit upward flow ofrefrigerated air from the passage 38 to the channel iii formed betweenthe lading it and the doors 25. It is particularly important that theportion of the lading adjacent the channel llt be well refrigeratedbecause the doors represent an inherent source of heat leakage from theoutside and increased refrigeration should, therefore, be supplied. Thesize of the apertures i5 should be proportioned so that a portion of theair iiows to the channel d6 and the remainder to the ducts Anotherfunction oi the member 3l is to provide the passage 38 which affordscommunication between the ducts 35 adjacent the doorway and the ducts 2Sremote from the doorway. Some parts ci a refrigerator car often becomecolder or warmer than other parts; it is, therefore, desirab-le toprovide means ot cormnunication between the ducts under the fioor rackso that the temperature within the car may tend to equalize.

The member''i is also intended to function as a load supporting meanswhich bridges the span between the threshold 5t of the doorway and thefloor rack. li. n other words, the member 3l comprises an inwardlyprojecting extension to the threshold plate Sii. Fig. 4, which is anenlarged portion of Fig. 2, shows the member 3l formed with a dependingflange 5i and a di agonal brace 52. The member 3l may then be 'securedto the car to form a smooth, load supporting surface between thethreshold plate 5E? and the upper slats 25 of the oor rack i l.

Fig. 5 shows a modified construction in which the member 6@ is formedintegral with the threshold plate di. 'Iiiis construction provides asmooth surface over which to transport loads and also provides astronger construction.

The accompanying drawing illustrates the preferred form of theinvention, though it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the exact details of construction shown and described, as itis obvious that various modifications thereof, within the scope of theclaims, will occur to persons skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. In combination with the walls, roof. and floor of a refrigerator car,refrigerating means in the upper part of the car, one of said wallscomprising two parts, one of said parts having a flue associatedtherewith and arranged to conduct air from said means to the lower partof the car and the other of said parts being devoid of such iiue, aforaminous rack supported in spaced relation to said door to form aspace therebetween, means to divide said space into two portions, one ofwhich has communication with said nue and the other of which has one endadjacent said last mentioned part, and a member interposed between saidlast mentioned part and said rack in spaced relation to said iioor toform a passage assises communicating between said ue and said lastmentioned portion.

2. A structure as defined in claim 1 including a doorway through saidlast mentioned part and a door adapted to close said doorway.

S. A structure as deiined in claim 1 including a doorway through saidlast mentioned part and door adapted to close said doorway, said memberhaving apertures for iiow of air upwardly from said passage.

e. A structure as defined in claim 1 including a doorway through saidlast mentioned part, said member being constructed and arranged tofunction as a load supporting means for the passage of vehicles throughsaid doorway.

5. A structure as defined in claim 1 including a threshold forming thelower frame member of said doorway and a threshold plate forming a coverfor said threshold, said threshold plate and said member being formedintegral.

6. in combination with the walls, roof and iioor of a refrigerator car,refrigerating means in the upper part of the car, one of, said wallscomprising two parts, one of said parts having a flue associatedtherewith and arranged to conduct air from said means to the lower partof the car and the other of said parts being devoid of such iiue, aforaminous rack supported in spaced relation to said floor to form aspace therebetween which has communication with said flue, a secondioraminous rack supported in spaced relation to said floor to form asecond space therebetween which has one end adjacent said last mentionedpart, and a. member interposedv between said last mentioned part andsaid second rack in spaced relation to said iioor to form a passagecommunicating between said flue and said second space.

7. In a refrigerator having a refrigerant chamber below the roof andnear one of said walls, a fcraminous rack spaced above the iioor forsupporting a lading, a flue associated with said wall and communicatingbetween said chamber and the space under said rack, a doorway in saidwall, and a member positioned between the threshold of said doorway andsaid rack and spaced above said floor to provide a passage whichcommunicates between the space below said rack and said flue, wherebyrefrigerated air may circulate from said chamber downwardly through saidfiue to the passage under said member and thence to the space under saidrack from where it may circulate upwardly to co-ol the lading.

3. A structure as deiined in claim 7 wherein said member is providedwith apertures so that a portion of said air may flow therethrough tocool the lading.

9. A structure as defined in claim 1 wherein saidmember is provided withapertures for iiow K of air from said passage to the lading compartment'of the car.

RALPH B. WINSHIP.

